


you put me on and said I was your favorite

by thotsandfeelings



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:34:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27177949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thotsandfeelings/pseuds/thotsandfeelings
Summary: “You’re a thief,” he says, disbelieving. “I’ve known you for, what? 30 hours? And you’re already stealing from me.”
Relationships: Josh Lyman/Donna Moss
Comments: 35
Kudos: 158





	you put me on and said I was your favorite

**Author's Note:**

> This little fic was from a prompt by @reekaee: "Any chance of more fic of Donna borrowing Josh's clothes (re: Hartsfield's Landing and Donna steals Josh's winter coat). It's the BEST."
> 
> I hope it's what you were looking for! :)
> 
> If anyone else ever has any prompts, please leave them in the comments! I'm always, always, always open to them.

Josh second guesses his decision on hiring Donna exactly 12 hours after the fact when he’s disturbed awake by a swift knock on his door. He looks at his alarm clock and groans loudly when he sees it’s not quite 6am. He throws the blanket off his legs and shivers violently as his bare feet hit the ice cold wood floor, ambling over to open the door and yell at whomever disturbed his peaceful sleep. 

“Morning,” Donna says brightly and Josh has half a mind to shut the door in her face. 

“Are you always this annoyingly peppy in the morning?” 

“I think what you meant to say is delightfully refreshing,” she quips and pushes past him into his room. 

“Donna,” he whines and grabs his pants that are laying across the small chair by the bathroom. “I’m not even dressed yet, you can’t just _waltz_ in here. What if I slept naked?”

She’s unbothered as she goes to open the room darkening curtains. “This is a national campaign for presidency, Josh. We’re gonna have to be comfortable around each other at all times, we might as well bite the bullet and start now.”

Josh hops into his pants, but leaves them unbuttoned, and sighs, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “What are you even doing here? The Governor won’t be in until 9.”

She looks down at her notebook. “You have, for lack of a better term, senior staff at 7, but I saw Leo in the hall and he said he wants you down for breakfast at 6:30.”

Josh groans again, but digs through his suitcase for some fresh clothes so he can take a quick shower. He throws an old Harvard crewneck on his bed and misses the way Donna eyes it as he stumbles into the bathroom. Donna turns to follow him.

“We also have the last fundraiser today before we leave for South Carolina tomorrow,” she says primely and Josh nods his head as he turns on the shower tap, a yawn wracking through his body.

“I need you to get with CJ and get the details for the thing this weekend and you’ll also have to call ahead, make sure the hotel is prepped and ready,” he mumbles and almost takes his shirt off, but stops when he turns around and she’s right there.

Donna writes some more notes on her agenda before clicking her pen shut and looking up at him expectantly. He stares back at her for a moment, a look of amusement crossing his face. 

“I gotta shower,” he says. “So, unless you wanna get _really_ comfortable, you might wanna...” he gestures toward the door.

“Right! Sorry, I’ll just–,” she points behind her and walks backwards, closing the door behind her.

“Can you grab me a coffee or something? I used the last hotel pack yesterday,” he says, his words muffled by the sound of running water.

“I don’t ‘grab coffee’,” she says distractedly as she writes more reminders for herself and Josh peeks his head out of the door again.

“What’s the point of having an assistant if you won’t get me some caffeine?” Donna peers up at him and he has the decency to look a little scared of her. “I mean– I’m very grateful to have such an organized and dedicated assistant to help me with possibly the biggest thing I’ll ever do in my career.”

She smirks. “That’s better.”

Josh closes the door again and she hears him pull back the shower curtain. She peers around the room, rolling her eyes at the mess he’s managed to make. She catches sight of the crewneck laying haphazardly across his bed and she snags it, draping it over her arm as she makes her way out of his room.

“I’ll see you after staff,” she shouts as the door slams closed behind her.

* * *

Josh flops down onto the uncomfortable bus seat next to Donna, a long and weary sigh escaping his lips. He tilts his head back and closes his eyes for a long moment before shaking his head and pressing his palms to his forehead.

“Where are we?” he asks and she shifts to lean against the window beside her. 

“We just crossed into Virginia about 20 minutes ago.”

He sighs again and straightens up before looking at her. She’s copying the calendar she borrowed from Carol into her own so she has all the dates right for the next month. They’ll be traveling a lot and she needs to be perfectly organized or else things will slip through the cracks. She moves to brush her hair behind her ear and bites on the cap of her pen when she feels Josh tug on her arm.

“Is this mine?” he asks, fingering the red material of the crewneck she’s wearing.

“I was cold.”

He grins despite himself. “You stole it?”

“I’ll give it back.”

“You’re a thief,” he says, disbelieving. “I’ve known you for, what? 30 hours? And you’re already stealing from me.”

“ _Borrowing_ ,” she clarifies and flips to the next week in her planner. “And you have multiple layers on. I didn’t have room for any in my suitcase and since, you know, you’re not paying me yet, I figured it was the least you could do.”

“You did, huh?” he asks, his dimples deepening in his cheeks. 

“Yes,” she states and looks up at him. “Can we go over the media buys in the midwest now?”

Josh looks at her and he clears his throat to hide the catch in his breath as her hair spills back over her shoulder and he thinks to himself that she looks really good in Harvard red. He blinks and nods his head, pulling her second notebook into his lap and flipping to a blank page to start their chart.

“Yes, we can.”

* * * 

Donna decided on day one that instead of spending her limited funds and wasting space in her carry-on on casual clothes, she would just share with Josh instead, so the stash she’s pilfered from him only grows as the campaign stretches on. A few shirts, a red and black flannel, the Harvard sweatshirt, and even a pair of boxers when all her shorts were in the wash. 

“Okay, I know for _sure_ that you got paid last week because _I_ got paid last week,” he says when he comes out of the bathroom and sees her in his Connecticut Cares baseball tee. “Why can’t you buy your own clothes?”

They’re somewhere in Nebraska or maybe Utah, she can’t really remember, but they’re coming up on the last stretch of the campaign trail and they’re in multiple states per week. They’re in her hotel room, trying to squeeze every last nickel of their budget into swing states and she’s exhausted.

“Josh, do you really think I have time to go _shopping_?”

He rolls his eyes. “We got free shirts from the university yesterday! You can’t keep stealing mine.”

“Is this really how you want to spend the next 20 minutes before I kick you out so I can actually get some sleep?”

He stares at her, stubborn as always, but Donna is undefeated in these arguments. Like clockwork, Josh sighs and looks away, flopping backwards on her bed and Donna smirks victoriously.

“No,” he mumbles.

“That’s what I thought.”

She continues to scribble down some notes for Josh to take to Leo in the morning and he sneaks a peek at her. She’s got her hair twisted around a couple Bartlet for America pencils she took from Toby earlier today. Her legs are crossed as she twiddles the pen in her hand against the notebook as her brows furrow a little and he grins when she jolts up, apparently remembering whatever it is she was trying to remember before writing it down. Josh feels a rush of affection creep up inside him for his assistant and he has to physically bite his tongue before something overly sentimental comes out. He goes for banter instead. 

“Do you even need me here?” he jokes, nudging her knee with his. 

“Not really,” she mutters and she continues writing, smiling when he whines her name, and she looks up. “Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot you have to be the center of attention or you turn into a gremlin.”

“Okay, I’m never watching another movie with you again.”

She chuckles and closes her notebook before lying back on the pillow next to him. She closes her eyes and Josh’s heart stutters when her hand falls on his arm and she doesn’t move it. He lays impossibly still as the A/C kicks on in her room and blows across them and he gets a whiff of her citrus shampoo and the lingering scent of the perfume she and CJ tried on earlier. He closes his eyes tight and tries not to think of what would happen if they were here under different circumstances. She’s wearing his clothes and she smells way too good and her hand is still on his arm and Josh has to get out of here. Normally, it doesn’t faze him. He touches her all day long; a hand on her back leading her down a hallway or her hand brushing his while he signs some form of another, but now… she just looks so soft and he’s so tired and if he doesn’t leave now, he’ll do something he’ll regret. So, he pops straight up, cutting the contact with her hand, and scrapes his fingers through his hair before swinging his feet off the bed and standing up.

“I’ll let you get to sleep,” he says as she sits up.

“Are you okay?” she asks, her brow furrowed.

“Yeah,” he says quickly. “Just tired. It’s been a long day.”

Donna groans and stretches and Josh closes his eyes again when his shirt rides up on her stomach.

“Long week is more like it.”

He chuckles a little nervously and makes his way to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I canceled your wakeup call. The breakfast got pushed back an hour, so I’ll come get you at 9. Well,” she amends, “8:45.”

“‘Kay,” he murmurs, and opens the door. “Night.”

“Night, Josh,” she says softly and he smiles before closing the door. 

* * *

When Toby tells her that Josh is hurt, a loud ringing starts in her ear and her eyes well up instantly, emotion caught in her throat as she realizes what he means.

Not _Josh_.

Her body doesn't know how to comprehend the information, so she shuts down and sits next to Charlie who seems to be just as withdrawn, and she waits. Her companions come and go, but she stays right where she is while Josh has his chest cracked open. It’s the least she can do. 

She’s grateful to Mrs. Bartlet when she talks to her like a person and gives her the truth to Josh’s condition. 

“Can I see him?” Donna asks quietly.

Abbey sighs and runs her hand down Donna’s arm soothingly. “He’s still in surgery. It’s gonna be awhile before he’s awake.”

“I don’t care. I can just watch for a little bit, I’ll be quiet,” she pleads. “Please. It’s _Josh_. I have to see him.”

After a beat, Abbey nods her head and helps Donna out of her seat. She leads her past the “not allowed past this point” doors and into a small gallery. She turns her toward the wall of windows and Donna gasps quietly when she sees Josh on the operating table, a group of doctors surrounding him, working on him dutifully. 

“You can stay here for a while, alright? There’s an agent at the door anyway, just tap him if you need anything.”

Donna nods, her emotions caught in her throat. “Thank you.”

She stays there for hours, just watching what little of the procedure she can see, but mostly she keeps her eyes trained on Josh’s face as she plays with her White House ID badge. It kills her seeing so many tubes and wires poking out of him, but she knows they’re necessary to save his life. After she almost passes out from standing too long, she regretfully leaves him and taps the agent’s shoulder to have someone come get her. 

She stays with Toby in their little waiting room until the early morning, falling asleep on his shoulder around 4 after they get another positive update. She wakes up around 7, her head now leaning against Margaret instead and she stretches, anxiety coursing through and jolting her awake better than any espresso shot, and she stands up. 

“Where’s Josh?” she asks.

“Still in surgery,” Sam says from behind her. 

“Good,” she breathes, her shoulders slumping. “Good.”

“You should go home and get some real sleep.”

She shakes her head as a yawn wracks through her. “No, no, I’m fine.”

Sam just gives her a look and Donna sighs and scrubs her hands over her face. “I’ll go run by Josh’s for some stuff he’ll need when he gets out of surgery later.”

“Do you want me to drive?” Sam asks, worry still etched on his face. 

“No, it’s okay, Sam. I’ll feel better if you’re here.”

She smiles softly at him before making her way out of the doors and into the harsh sunlight. She blindly makes her way to her car and once the drivers side door is shut she lets out a huge breath. She starts the engine and drives to Josh’s, thankfully not crossing anyone from the press corps or his neighbors. She uses his key she grabbed from the nurse at the front desk who had his belongings, and she leans back against his front door, closing her eyes for a moment once she’s inside. She opens them once she’s reoriented and heads for his bathroom, groaning when she sees her reflection. She remembers their luggage got switched on accident the other night and he forgot to return hers, so she finds it and decides to take a quick shower. 

She lets the hot water pierce her skin, a welcome distraction from the situation at hand as she scrubs her skin to a bright red. Once she’s comfortably numb, she steps out of the shower and into his room to get changed. It’s still stuffy outside, but the hospital is chilly, and she didn’t bring any layers, so she grabs a stray sweatshirt of his and pulls it over her head. She’s immediately overwhelmed by the scent of him and she hugs it to her as the past few hours crash over her and she finally breaks down, right there in the middle of his bedroom. She slides down the wall and curls up into a tight ball and cries. 

Her brain runs a slideshow of the last 12 hours; seeing the news that the President had been shot and immediately getting in her car and breaking about 10 traffic laws on the way to the hospital, the feeling of CJ rubbing her back after Toby told her Josh was hit, and worst of all - Josh connected to a machine that was breathing for him. She chokes on her breath as another wave of hysteria washes over her.

 _Josh was hit_. Loud, annoying, abrasive, sweet, kind Josh got _shot_. 

And she wasn’t there. 

Donna hiccups and rubs at her eyes, forcing herself to calm down. She wasn’t there when he was hit, but she can be there for him while he recovers. She takes a few deep breaths and when she finally pulls herself together, she finishes getting ready, packs a bag for Josh, and heads back to the hospital. 

* * * 

“Josh, I’m just trying to help,” she murmurs when he pushes her away. 

“I can do it,” he argues and winces as he tries to pull himself all the way into a sitting position. 

He’s sweating and his breath comes out more harshly the longer he stays bent over and Donna’s just about to reach for him when he falls back onto the bed. He’s panting and irritated and Donna’s on the verge of losing it, but she doesn’t say anything to him. He lays there for a moment, catching his breath, and he whispers her name so quietly she’s almost sure she imagined it, but when he looks up at her, she slides back into action. She grabs his hands and helps him sit all the way up before swinging his legs slowly over the side of his bed. He’s about a month into recovery and he can move pretty well most days, but he just got back from a particularly grueling physical therapy and he’s angry and exhausted. 

“Stay here, I’ll get the walker,” she says, but he whines.

“It’s like 10 steps, Donna. I can do it.” She gives him a pointed look and he rolls his eyes. “Fine. I don’t have dignity anymore anyway.”

“Josh, would you feel better if I let you do what you thought was right and you fell over and I had to call Sam or Toby to come help me? Is that what you want?”

His jaw ticks. “No.”

“Then just let me help you.”

She walks over to the other side of his bed to grab the walker before coming back over to him. 

“Slow,” she warns as he takes off for the bathroom. 

“The faster I move, the faster you can leave me alone, so.”

He slams the door and Donna crumbles on his bed with her face in her hands and lets out a soft sob. The past few weeks have been the worst of her entire life. She’s set up camp in his living room; leaving during the day for work and coming directly back. Now that he’s not hooked up to a constant monitor that told her he was alive, she just can’t leave him alone. She has to be sure she’s there since she wasn’t in Rosslyn. 

She stands back up when she hears the toilet flush and the sink run. She wipes under her eyes and gains composure as soon as he opens the door. He slowly makes his way over to her. She grabs his hands again and steadies him as he sits down and scoots back, and she grabs his legs to help him bring them onto the mattress. She flits over to refill his glass of water as he gets comfortable. She shakes a pill into her palm which she transfers to his and she hands him the water. She makes the mistake of sniffing and he looks up at her, seeing her red eyes and he swallows before wordlessly grabbing her arm and pulling her into the bed with him. 

“Josh,” she argues, but he keeps tugging. 

“Just come here.”

She huffs when he still won’t let her go and relents, sliding under the comforter. He pulls her into his right side, her hair tickling his arm as she snuggles in. 

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, but she shakes her head and sniffs again.

“I know you’re frustrated, Josh, it’s okay. I’m just tired,” she says and she moves to get out of the bed. “We both just need sleep, so I’m gonna–“

“Stay,” he whispers. She looks over at him, uncertain, but he just tugs on her arm again. “You can sneak out after I fall asleep, if you want. Just… stay.”

Donna doesn’t take any more convincing, just slides back into the crook of his arm and snuggles in. He rubs her shoulder and she lays her head more on his chest until she can hear his heart beating underneath her. 

“Is it still in there?” he asks quietly. “They didn’t take it out for some unethical frankenstein-y testing or anything?”

She huffs a laugh against him. “It’s still there.”

“Good,” he replies sleepily, the pain meds starting to kick in. “I’m glad you’re here.” Her breath hitches and she sniffs again, making Josh sigh. “Don’t cry, Donna. I’m okay. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry,” she repeats and wipes under her eye. Josh fingers the sleeve of her (his) shirt she’s got on.

“I can’t die yet. You’d steal _all_ my clothes then, that’s way too easy.” 

She lets out a watery laugh. “I won’t stop until I get that Mets hoodie.”

He chuckles. “You’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.”

Donna lets out a big exhale and curls her hand under her chin, settling fully against Josh as he continues to rub her shoulder and back. 

“You’re not allowed to let that happen for a very, _very_ long time. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” he slurs and she gently pats his chest. 

“Go to sleep, Josh,” she whispers.

Josh holds her as tight as he can and lays his head on hers, kissing her hair softly. His breath grows steady and Donna’s about to roll off of him when she hears a faint “don’t leave”, so she doesn’t. 

* * *

There was a time when she didn’t think she’d still get to have this with him, this _thing_ over him pretending to be annoyed by her stealing his clothes. She had tried to slowly sneak his shirts back one by one to him when he suddenly decided he was Mr. Commitment. She didn’t think it was wise for her to accidentally wear something of his while he had a girlfriend, but she came to work the morning after she stuck a gray Yale Bulldog shirt in his backpack to find it sitting on her desk with a sticky note on top of it reading; _you kicked my ass at Boggle that night, you earned this one_. 

She smiles and tucks it in her bag for safekeeping and if she wears it under a jacket while she meets up with everyone at a bar, including said girlfriend, and if she shares a secret smile with Josh from across the table when he notices it, then it’s just coincidence. 

* * *

Once re-election comes upon them and Amy isn't in the picture anymore, Josh’s belongings still stay in his possession instead of finding their way into Donna’s closet, but he’s finding himself missing the way she’d grin when he called her out on stealing yet another decade old shirt from him. 

So, he offers her his clothes every chance he gets. A suit jacket when he makes their cab pull over too soon to help (but not really) keep the rain off her. A spare button up after he accidentally knocks over a strawberry parfait on her new ivory silk blouse, with a promise to take her shopping over the weekend; no credit limit. A thick coat when she finally comes downstairs after he throws snowballs at her window, and instant regret when she sits on his lap and he knows the scent of her will haunt him for days to come. 

He finds her in his office one night after President Bartlet’s sworn in. They’ve been working on trying to get a bill into committee all week long and he smiles to himself when he sees that she’s actually asleep, her arms folded beneath her head on his desk and her hair blowing steadily every time she exhales. Josh goes to grab a stray jacket he left on the hook by her desk and comes back, laying the thrifted cotton over her shoulders, and he wakes her up. 

“Donna,” he murmurs and he rubs her back as her eyes flutter. He holds back a laugh when she rubs her eyes sleepily, looking like a little kid, and he moves her hair behind her shoulder. 

“Time ‘z it?” she mumbles and clumsily threads her arms through his jacket. “It’s freezing in here.”

“I know. Let's get outta here.”

Josh grabs her hands and pulls her up as she yawns widely. “I gotta call a cab,” she says, following him out of his office to grab her bags from her desk. “I didn’t drive today.”

“I’ll take you.”

“It’s late, Josh, and in the opposite direction. I’ll be fine.”

He only rolls his eyes and steers her out of the lobby and into the chilly March night. He opens the door for her and she climbs into his car, shivering as he sits beside her and blasts the heat. 

“Where’s your coat?” he asks as he breathes into his palms, trying to warm them up, and he looks at her as she clings to his thin jacket like a lifeline. 

“I slept through my alarm this morning,” she says. “By the time I realized I forgot it, the cab was already halfway to work.”

He just shakes his head and throws the car in reverse, putting his hand behind her head as he backs out of his parking space. “You wouldn’t survive without me, Donnatella. You’d be an icicle.”

Donna lets her hair curtain her face so he can’t see the smile that crosses her lips. “No, my boss just works me too hard,” she replies. “And is making me lose my mind.”

He gives her a look. “This is just your stealthy way of stealing more clothes from me.”

“You put this on me,” she argues, pulling at a loose thread on the jacket, “I didn’t ask for it or steal it.”

“Fine,” Josh says. “So you’ll give it back when I drop you off.”

“Oh, so you’re just gonna let me freeze after keeping me at work until midnight on a Friday?”

“Yep.”

“Fine,” she says and starts to take off the jacket. 

“Not _now_ ,” he argues, reaching over to stop her.

“We’re almost there anyway and since you want it back so badly…”

“You’ll freeze!”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Donna, just take the damn jacket.”

She smirks and shrugs the sleeve back up. “Alright, if you insist.”

Josh scowls, staying silent as he drives the remaining five minutes and turns down her street, stopping in front of her building. “I’m onto you, Moss,” he says as she opens the door, still wearing the jacket. 

“No you’re not, Lyman,” she says, chuckling at him. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll call you in the morning.”

“Night!” he calls and he waits until she waves down at him from her window. She makes a show of wrapping the jacket tighter around her and Josh shakes his head amusedly and drives away. 

* * *

There are nights on the Russell campaign where she’s frozen with indecision. Maybe she shouldn’t have quit so suddenly. She never told Josh how crazy and jumbled she was feeling after Gaza, but, she rebuttals internally, he wouldn’t listen after she tried and tried to talk to him. She always ends up convincing herself that she made the right choice. 

And then she runs into him. Again and again and again.

“We really gotta stop meeting like this,” he quips as she slides into the closing elevator. 

She sends a small smile his way, but doesn’t say anything as the elevator slowly makes its way up. They’re in Ohio, the Iowa caucus about a month away, and she’d hoped the Santos camp had already left, but clearly, the universe wants her to suffer. She crosses her arms over her chest, hoping against hope that he didn’t see the front of the red Harvard hoodie she’s wearing. She doesn’t have the energy for it today. 

“You look good,” he murmurs and she whips her head over to see him giving her a knowing smirk. “Even in stolen clothes.”

“ _Borrowed_ clothes.”

“If you were ever planning on giving that back to me, I’ll give you a thousand dollars.”

“I’d give it to you right now for a thousand dollars,” she says and fingers the hem. “But I’m actually not wearing anything underneath, so.”

“All the more reason to give it back now.”

Donna rolls her eyes, but can’t stop the laugh that escapes her. She’s missed this, missed _him_ , but she sobers when she remembers why she misses anything in the first place and she crosses her arms tighter over her chest.

The elevator dings again for her floor and she nods her head at Josh, sending him a small smile, and walks out. He stops the doors from closing, peeking out as he watches her walk down the hall. 

“You really do look good,” he says and she turns to face him. He’s smiling softly at her, his dimples peeking out, and she looks down again, a light blush coloring her cheeks. 

“Goodnight, Josh.”

“Night, Donna,” he murmurs and lets the elevators close. 

* * *

Josh sighs heavily as he wakes up, disoriented for a moment until he remembers where he is - he looks down - and who he's with. 

Their plane had landed on the island at 3am local time and they’d kicked their shoes off blindly before crawling into bed and falling asleep instantly. 

He basks in the feeling of waking up with Donna in his arms for the first time. They’d always been too scared or too distracted to do a proper morning after, so he’s soaking it all up now. He can feel her bare skin against his ankle and he rubs her back gently and lets his fingers run through her hair, not trying to wake her up, but incapable of keeping his hands to himself. 

She stirs after a minute, her chest arching against his as she yawns, and his hand keeps running steadily over her back. 

“Morning,” she murmurs, rolling her head off his chest to look at him. 

“Good morning.”

Josh smiles and moves his hand to her jaw, tilting her face so he can lean down and kiss her. She’s smiling back at him when he pulls away. 

“Very good morning,” Donna replies, cupping his face and drawing him in again. 

He lets her kiss him for a while, his hand making a long path from her thighs to her neck, until she pulls away and catches her breath while resting her forehead against his. 

“Why weren't we always doing that?” he asks and she laughs out loud. 

“We’re idiots.”

“Yeah,” Josh breathes and rolls them both until they’re on their sides facing one another. He tugs on her hip playfully, a mischievous look in his eye, before he pulls away and out of the bed. “I have something for you.”

Donna pouts at the loss of contact, but sits up a little as he ferrets around his suitcase for a moment. He grabs something and puts it behind his back as he walks back over to her, a goofy grin on his face. 

“What is it?” she asks, craning her neck to try and look around him. 

“Well, I know that you know how big it is that I went on vacation at all let alone with a woman.”

Donna grins. “And with me of all the women.”

He smirks and sits down beside her. “I know, or I _hope_ , you see it as a serious gesture, but I wanted to give you a symbol of sorts to make sure.”

“A symbol for what?”

Josh licks his lips and brings his hands to the front, brandishing the ever-coveted Mets hoodie he’s been able to keep out of her clutches all these years. 

“Commitment,” he murmurs.

Donna grins up at him and slowly reaches for the faded cloth. “This is your favorite one, Josh. It was your dad’s. You never let anyone wear it.”

“It is my favorite one. I want my favorite person to have it.”

He sits on the bed and she plucks at the drawstring before looking up at him, her eyes shining. “Are you sure?”

Josh nods. “I should’ve given it to you a long time ago. You’re the only person who’s ever been worthy of it.”

Donna smiles at him affectionately and brings it up to her nose, closing her eyes when the scent of Josh surrounds her. 

“I’m honored,” she murmurs and goes to unfold it and put it on. She gets up on her knees, the tattered cloth falling at the top of her thighs, and she spreads her arms wide. “Well?”

Josh smiles and sticks his finger in the hole on the left arm and tugs playfully. “It’s no Harvard red, but it’ll do.”

He rolls onto his back again and pulls her down to him, his hands sliding underneath the hoodie and her shirt for a moment before pulling at the hem to try and get them both off of her. 

“The point of this vacation is to wear as little clothing as possible, though,” he says, dragging the worn cotton up until she relents and lets him toss it to the end of the bed. “So we’ll just leave that off the rest of the week.”

She hums and straddles his hips properly. “You love when I wear your clothes,” she murmurs and kisses the side of his mouth. Josh groans quietly and rolls on top of her to nuzzle her neck. 

“Your collection’s about to get a whole lot bigger,” he mumbles as he kisses her jawline and she giggles when he squeezes her waist. “Unlimited access to steal all of my belongings.”

She rolls her eyes. “I don’t _steal_.” He pinches her hip again. “And I’ve always had unlimited access, you gave me a key years ago.”

He chuckles and kisses her cheek before leaning back to look at her. She lays her head back on the fluffy down pillow and runs her hands down his biceps. She’s got some leftover mascara under her eyes, her hair’s a mess, and neither of them have showered in a good 30 hours, but Josh has never been this content in his entire life. He’s already breathing easier being away from DC, but he knows she’s the real reason for his overflowing happiness. 

“Take it all,” he murmurs and she smiles shyly at him. 

“What’s yours is mine and all that?”

She’s joking, he knows, but he turns serious as he nods his head. “What’s mine has always been yours, Donna.”

“Josh.”

“I’m serious,” he says. “I’m done messin’ around. I don’t need 3 more weeks, I know what I want. I’ve known it since the first time I saw you in my Harvard pullover.”

Donna threads her fingers through his hair. “You knew way back then?”

His smirk turns predatory. “Why do you think I never tried very hard to get it back?”

She shrugs. “I thought you were scared of me.”

“Two things can be true at once.” She huffs a laugh at him, blowing his wild hair for a moment. “Since day one, Donna. Maybe I didn’t _know_ know, but I knew there was a reason I found you in my office that day.”

“It looked the messiest. I figured you needed the most help.”

“I needed _you_ ,” he iterates, ignoring her teasing tone. “Maybe I didn’t fully realize it back then and I know I took it for granted the past 8 years, which, by the way, I plan to start making up for shortly, but I needed you that day and I really need you now.”

Donna moves to cup his face, her eyes filling up as she watches the sweetest smile form across his lips. 

“I need you, too,” she whispers, brushing under his eyes with her thumbs. “For more than just your wardrobe.”

His eyes dance and he moves to lay completely on top of her, cradled snuggly between her thighs. He kisses her gently, her smile infectious against his lips, and he falls more into her. 

“I wanna be with you,” he whispers. “Right now, a year from now, 20 years from now… I want it all.” She sniffs and pulls back to search his eyes and he hopes she sees nothing but love in them because it’s all he can feel when he’s with her like this. She whispers his name and it’s like a siren call to him, he can’t help but kiss her again. “I’m in love with you,” he murmurs and her breath hitches. 

She sneaks her hands under his shirt, sliding it up and over his head, and letting it fall to the floor. She crosses her ankles behind his back and looks up at his bright and smiling face. She pokes his dimples with her thumbs, making them deepen in his cheeks and her heart does a somersault in her chest. 

“I’m in love with you, too,” she echoes. Josh exhales heavily against her and kisses her deeply, eliciting a breathy, satiated sigh from her lips when he pulls back. 

“So, does that mean you’re my girlfriend now?” he asks, grinning like an absolute loon and she chuckles before nodding. 

“Afraid so,” she murmurs, pulling him down for another kiss. 

“We’re totally gonna do it on prom night.”

Donna shakes with muffled laughter underneath him. “Can I wear your letterman jacket to the sock-hop?”

“No, but you could wear my Honor Society _cardigan_.”

She pulls away and rests her forehead against his neck, giggling louder underneath him. Josh is undeterred though, and slides his hand back under the shirt she still has on.

“Please tell me you still have it.”

He rolls his eyes and looks innocently at her. “It got donated a long time ago.”

“It’s in Florida with your mom, isn’t it?” she asks when his eyes tick away from hers, and he whines her name. “My boyfriend is such a nerd.”

“It’s a traumatizing garment, alright? I was the only one junior year who didn’t have a date to wear it to the annual homecoming dinner. I had to fake sick and I stayed home and watched Gone with the Wind with my mom like a loser.”

Donna’s giggles return and she tugs him into a hug when he huffs, circling his shoulders and squeezing tight. 

“You poor thing,” she coos, teasing him, but she still runs her hands in soothing circles on his back. “I think I could make it less painful for you.”

“Oh, yeah?” he mumbles, his mouth moving up her neck slowly. “How?”

Donna cups his jaw and pulls him to her, kissing him thoroughly, while her hips raise and push him on his back again. She sits up on his belly and takes her shirt off. 

“I could borrow the cardigan,” she says, grabbing his hands and running them up her stomach and chest. 

“Steal.”

“ _Borrow_ ,” she says, and she exhales quickly when he pinches her nipples, making her head loll back. “And I would _only_ wear the borrowed cardigan.” She rolls her hips over him and he grunts. “Would that help?”

Josh hums and nudges her legs so he can get her bottoms off. “I think that could help heal the wound, yeah.” He pulls her down so he can kiss her, moving back up to massage her breasts until she’s panting against his mouth. “But I’m good with just regular, naked sex right now.”

“Good idea, Honor Society.”

Josh huffs as Donna smirks against his lips, her tinkling laugh like music to his ears as he helps her take his boxers off. 

“Just come here, Butch Cassidy,” he murmurs, rolling them once again as he kisses her senseless. 


End file.
